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Posts from the ‘Gratitude’ Category

Jul 14

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Between the Lines

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”― Robert Frost

“The reward is a full human experience, complete with all the emotions at maximum dosage, where we have been put to great use and found an other-centric love that is complete in its expression and its transmission. The reward is to end up soft and humble, empty and in awe, knowing that of all the magnificence we have beheld from cradle to grave, the most eye-popping was interpersonal.

So here’s to anyone who notices and reads between the lines, who asks the right questions, but not too many, who takes notes at the doctor’s office and wipes butts, young and old, who listens, holds and stays. We, who, untrained and always a little off-guard, still dare to do love. To be love. That’s brave.” – Kelly Corrigan, To Love is to Be Brave, TedTalk 2024

May I read between the lines.
Ask more questions to understand.
To never assume first impressions are true.
To dig deeper to reveal complexities and nuances.
To hold and be held.
Awake in the middle.
Soft and humble.
Emptied of the futile to make room for the truly important.
In awe of the magnificence of love woven in ordinary days.
Often overlooked and sped by on the way to what’s next.
Amplifying now, tending to what’s next when it arrives.
Full human experience, maximum dosage of the present beautiful day.
Brave love in action.

“Behind all the stories we tell ourselves and the conditioning and beliefs we’ve adopted, there is a voice that is constantly whispering our truth. An internal GPS that knows our ‘yes’s’, and ‘no’s’ our ‘this way’s’ or ‘that way’s’, our core intent.”― Shayne Traviss, Your Vivid Life

Jul 7

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The Furtherings

“I’m going to give you a handful of wildflowers
so, each petal that falls will remind you
that the earth breathes, and the moon rises.”― Carolyn Riker, My Dear, Love Hasn’t Forgotten You

“I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life.
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.”
– John O’Donohue

Beauty in the forefront.
Delight in the making.
To paint a blank canvas.
Vibrant colors.
Brilliant shapes and hues.
Deep gratitude, awe and wonder.
Oasis at our feet.
In the midst of the desert.
Abundance sitting right next to scarcity.
Awaiting our awakening, our partaking.
The gift of fresh eyes, open heart and waves of possibility in all of the furtherings of this new day.

“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.”― Madeleine L’Engle

Mar 22

To Live in this World

“Stepping out of the busyness, stopping our endless pursuit of getting somewhere else, is perhaps the most beautiful offering we can make to our spirit.”― Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart

In Blackwater Woods
by Mary Oliver

“Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.

Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.

To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.”

Loving.
Holding.
Letting go.

Timing.

To live in this world.

Noticing.
Partaking.
Raptly aware.
Deeply grateful.
Sacred holy ground of the present.
Root.

Mar 18

A Way of Being Here

“For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul.”― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“I want to observe the ordinary things of earth—the moon, the stars, the rainbows, even the yellow leaves of the old cherry trees—and receive their messages. To hear them say what every weary traveler, every earnest seeker, longs to hear. Welcome home.”― Christie Purifoy, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons

To remain in this day.
To be present and alert.
To senses sharp.
To glasses not empty or half full but overflowing.
To rest and ease.
To joy and delight.
To beauty woven in the ordinary.
To fullness and more than enough-ness.
To gratitude and expression.
To peace, awe and wonder.
May these all be yours today.
The home where you already reside.

“True restfulness, though, is a form of awareness, a way of being in life. It is living ordinary life with a sense of ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace and prayer. We are restful when ordinary life is enough.”― Ronald Rolheiser, The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God

Feb 28

The Steps Along the Way

“…there are no wrong turns, only unexpected paths.”― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

“We work so hard to get somewhere, to realize a dream, to arrive at some destination, that we often forget that though some satisfaction may be waiting at the end of our endurance and effort, there is great and irreplaceable aliveness in the steps along the way.”― Mark Nepo

The alluring promise of someday.
The comfort of remembering when.
The hot pursuit of the finish line.
The satisfaction in the completion of our “to do” list.
In the midst of our striving, figuring, pursuing, the present sits quietly awaiting to be seen and entered into.
The path beneath our feet.
Sacred ground.
Root in today.
Witness and partake.
Simple joys in the steps along the way.

“Rest is not for weaklings. Hollowing out space for rest is work. Finding time for rest is the hands and feet of the promises we long to claim. It means saying no. It means having limits with ourselves. It means having limits with others. It takes courage to rest in the midst of an outcome-driven society. It takes strength to walk away from good in the pursuit of better.”― Saundra Dalton-Smith, Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity

Feb 18

If I Could, Yes You Can

“So plant your own gardens and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.”― Jorge Luis Borge

“If I could live again my life,
In the next – I’ll try,
– to make more mistakes,
I won’t try to be so perfect,
I’ll be more relaxed,
I’ll be more full – than I am now,
In fact, I’ll take fewer things seriously,
I’ll be less hygienic,
I’ll take more risks,
I’ll take more trips,
I’ll watch more sunsets,
I’ll climb more mountains,
I’ll swim more rivers,
I’ll go to more places – I’ve never been,
I’ll eat more ice creams and less lima beans,
I’ll have more real problems – and less imaginary ones,
I was one of those people who live
prudent and prolific lives –
each minute of his life,
Of course that I had moments of joy – but,
if I could go back I’ll try to have only good moments,

If you don’t know – that’s what life is made of,
Don’t lose the now!

I was one of those who never goes anywhere
without a thermometer,
without a hot-water bottle,
and without an umbrella and without a parachute.

If I could live again – I will travel light,
If I could live again – I’ll try to work bare feet
at the beginning of spring till the end of autumn,
I’ll ride more carts,
I’ll watch more sunrises and play with more children.”― Jorge Luis Borges

Don’t wait or delay living.
Live fully today.
Make decisions and daily choices that serve joy, feed gratitude, foster awe.
Travel light, use all of the crayons in the box, delight in this day.

Feb 17

Path of Gratitude

“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”—Erol Ozan

“Gratitude is a life skill that can be improved with practice. Even during the toughest trials, we can learn to find things to enjoy and appreciate. I don’t mean to imply that we can manage to be grateful every moment. That would be an unrealistic demand on ourselves. Feeling grateful is not a moral injunction but rather a healthy habit that we can learn to employ with greater frequency.”― Mary Pipher, Women Rowing North

Wherever you are today, get lost for a bit.
Break the monotony.
Dip below the surface.
Deeper waters.
Slow and still.
Quiet reflection.
Be kind to yourself.
Measure how far you have come not where you are not yet.
Do not lose the day by looking back or too far forward.
Gratitude daily to shift and transform ordinary moments.
Find some beautiful paths today.
Wander. Wonder. Awe.

“Resilience is built by attention and intention. We can take responsibility for our attitudes and focus on our strengths and our joys. We can go deep and face truth squarely. We can learn the skills that allow us to adapt to anything.”― Mary Pipher, Women Rowing North

Jan 29

Ten Times

“Listen, whatever you see and love—
that’s where you are.”― Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: Poems

“Ten times a day something happens to me like this – some strengthening throb of amazement – some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.”― Mary Oliver

Ten, maybe even twenty.
But start with ten and see where it goes.
Ten still points, pauses, stop signs.
Look around longer with fresh eyes, open heart.
Amazement. Wonder. Delight.
Praise. Gratitude. Reverence.
Ten, maybe even twenty. Or more.
Attention. Awareness. Awaken.

“Sometimes I dream
that everything in the world is here, in my room,
in a great closet, named and orderly,

and I am here too, in front of it,
hardly able to see for the flash and the brightness—
and sometimes I am that madcap person clapping my hands and singing;
and sometimes I am that quiet person down on my knees.”
― Mary Oliver

Jan 9

Be the Sun

Last winter’s snow and sun for now.

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.” – Alan Cohen

The last time we have had substantial sun was December 29th.
Potential sun predicted next Monday.
We are also behind 15 inches in snow too.
We miss what we don’t have and don’t appreciate it when we have it.
Stuck in complaint.
Absence may make the heart grow fonder.
May presence make our gratitude deepen.
Awareness rapt and aligned.
And may our sunshine come from within so when clouds hover, our light illuminates.
I can’t control the sun or the snow but I can control my outlook.
See the beauty no matter the weather.
Be the bright side.
Smile. Laughter. Joy.
Be the sun.

“Every day brings new choices.” – Martha Beck

Dec 31

Fresh Words

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
― Alfred Tennyson, In Memoriam

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language. And next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot

New Year’s Eve – the stuff of resolutions and proclamations.
Resolutions fizzle quickly without framework, scaffolding, intentionality, energy, and effort to hold them up when we get bored with the required repetition, practice, consistency of daily steps to really change and have it stick.
Principles and values are what I am more interested in pursuing and sustaining.
Growth, learning, awe, wonder, connection, joy, delight, gratitude, shifts, trying new things.
So, with intention coupled with action for the new year, my words are enthusiasm, engagement, connection, confidence, transformation, more joy, gratitude, equanimity, kindness, inquiry, action.
What are your words for the next year?
Reflect on 2023 then move forward with fresh words, hope, daily steps.
Create your language of 2024, spoken by actions, one day at a time.

“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.” – Cavett Robert

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